1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to a workpiece fixture, and in particular to a welding fixture for use in robotic welding cells, such as those described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0119039, published on May 16, 2013, which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of Related Art
Robotic welding continues to grow in popularity due in large part to the critical shortage of skilled labor, combined with the industry's need to remain competitive with lower labor costs and improved productivity. In response to this, robotic welding cells have been developed to help automate the welding process. Accordingly, robotic welding education cells, instructional cells that can be moved from classroom to classroom for training the next generation of welders on robotic programming and welding, have also been developed.
In robotic welding cells, a robotic arm having an arc welding torch is usually located at one end of the cell and welds workpieces positioned within a fixture on a welding table. The robot is programmed to weld along a desired path at the workpiece. Fixtures used to secure workpieces often need to be repositioned or replaced between welds in order to accommodate new workpieces to be welded in various positions. Moreover, the fixtures and/or workpieces need to be positioned properly with respect to the robot, so that the desired weld is performed correctly.